Stein Garten — Restaurant in Southampton

Seriously avoid this place!! I had the "pleasure" of visiting Stein Garten on the Thursday before good Friday, a table of 7, all in our thirties we were out for a meal and a few drinks. Well I can only assume they were short staffed, 20 minute queue at the bar and it only got busier. From arriving at our table the food took 2 hours to arrive, they said their normal chef was off sick and to be fair offered us a drink for the wait. When the food arrived though it all went downhill, a few of us weren't happy with the food but my mixed sausage grill inparticular just was't cooked very well and I only ate the chips. When our plates were cleared they asked as my plate was still full if it was OK and I said not really, that sausage didn't taste right to me and I didn't want to pay for the meal. What happened next beggars belief... The 'manager' (as I believed him to be) walked over to the kitchen and beckoned me to join him, his first question asked, in a very aggresive manner, was "What was your problem with you food?". My response was "I didn't like the sausage, it didn't taste as if it was cooked properly to me." What then happened was an exchange of which I have never experienced in my life, certainly not from a Company's 'manager' of a resturant/bar, which concluded with the 'manager' proclaiming I was going to "f** pay for the meal"! I later concluded he was being so aggresive as to incite a physical reaction as he squared up to me and called the bouncers over, I believe this may have been due to myself being a fully grown man and himself a rather young lad. I refer to him as a 'manager' as this fact changed a few times during our exchange, he was the manager, then part-owner, then finally the only owner - terrifying!! lol Then the trump card came out, as we tried to just pay and leave and go elsewhere for a drink, the bouncer says to me "I can't let you leave, the manager may say you had been racist", oh how I laughed (I later discovered that some of the bar staff and bouncers said to the other members of our group that the 'manager' regularly uses the "race card" as it was called, again an excellent example of how to behave. I am still in a state of disbelief of how anyone can think it is acceptable to conduct themselves in a such a manner, regardless of if they are representing a customer...

This is an authentically Austrian/Bavarian themed bar. It has what has got to be the biggest selection of German Weiss (Wheat) beers on tap in southern England (yes, as in all of the south!) which are available in 1/2 pint, 1 pint and enormous 2 pint "glass steins". Wursts (sausages) are pretty standard (whether in Germany or UK) but the side dishes like potato dumplings and pretzel are really good. Staff are friendly, professional and have real personality too (they are very capable professionals). There are two pretty amazing female bar staff including a lovely Romanian manageress with a really good sense of humour who will serve you if you are exceptionally lucky! All in all a really authentic, great place for German food but especially Weissbier (specifically "on tap" it has to be by far the biggest selection in...

Had an enjoyable evening here with some friends. Went on my wife's recommendation, as she'd been with her friends. The only thing she hadn't liked had been unfriendly staff, unfortunately that was the same with my experience. The place itself is great but the staff are miserable and it does slightly detract from the overall experience. The beer is really good and a fiver for the house lager in a 2 pint stein, during happy hour, is a bargain. I tried a few of the other beers as well and really enjoyed them. The four of us shared the sausage and schnitzel platter which was good value, not a huge amount of food but enough to keep us happy as we were drinking. The schnitzels were really tasty. Overall and enjoyable experience, with good beer, good food and I would definitely go back..... hopefully the staff were having...